Tasha Dennis

Tasha comes from the land of big box stores (also known as Brampton, Ontario) but now calls beautiful Vancouver home. When she’s not writing about all things LUSH, Tasha artfully balances her time between hiking, cycling, concert-going and indulging in local craft beer. She’s a sucker for good coffee and sci-fi TV shows, and aspires to be as much like Betty White as possible.

May05.26

Meet Helen Ambrosen, LUSH Inventor and Co-founder

Ever wonder where our best inventions, like Bubble Bars, Toothy Tabs or Moisturizers come from? They all started off as the brainchild of Helen Ambrosen, LUSH inventor and co-founder. Get to know Helen and discover how some of your favorite LUSH creations came to be.

“I see cosmetics as more of an art than science, and being able to draw beautiful pictures with ingredients like this is almost like painting a portrait and thinking ‘how does this sound?’ and ‘what effect is this going to have?”

One of the original LUSHies, Helen is a hair and skincare expert who’s been creating fresh, handmade products for more than 30 years and her passion for the cosmetic arts shines at LUSH. Her penchant for creating non-traditional cosmetics has led to some of our best-selling inventions.

Moisturizers“A moisturizer is about fine detail and striking a delicate balance.”

All of our moisturizers are exquisite and brimming with beautiful ingredients that are designed for radiant results. Using fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and butters as the base of her creations, Helen has invented some of our most loved moisturizers. She chooses ingredients for their vitality and freshness so you get the best effects no matter which one you choose. Skin’s Shangri La, for example, is packed with vegetable oils to help bring back moisture to dry skin, while fruits and flower oils are key ingredients for Cosmetic Lad, Enzymion, Vanishing Cream and Imperialis.

Bubble Bars“It can be a long process to develop a new product. You just want to get on and do it instantly, but it takes a while. You put off staring at the blank sheet of paper and fill up your time with distractions. You have to be disciplined.”

The only exception to this rule? Bubble bars. These solid, bubbly wonders became a reality when Helen left a sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar mixture out overnight and it got wet. The next morning, she found that the remaining mixture had a silky texture with tons of bubbly potential. It became the basis of our Bubble Bars – a packaging and preservative-free bar that creates bubbles a mile-high in your tub!

Solid Shampoos and Conditioners“(Cocoa butter) enables me to make liquids into solids and turn products into very visual elements. Solid conditioners are so visual and have great effects on the skin because of the cocoa butter. It is a fantastic ingredient and helps us to cut out packaging.“

Helen’s patented cocoa butter solid conditioner is the basis for Jungle and is the conditioner side of our 2-in-1 Godiva shampoo bar. Helen’s creation is unique not only because of its solid state, but also because of how it works. A liquid conditioner makes your hair feel softer instantly, while it’s still wet, but our solid conditioners keeps hair soft, smooth and smelling luxurious even after it’s dry.

Toothy Tabs“My task was to create a really good sodium bicarbonate toothpaste, as it cleans and whitens the teeth. It wasn't too difficult to turn it into a solid product. Therefore, it didn't need to be packaged in the same way as 'normal' toothpaste.”

Trying to re-invent toothpaste is like re-inventing the wheel, but for Helen, it was an easy challenge. She took everything we know about traditional toothpaste and created the solid, unpreserved Toothy Tabs – a non-fluoride product that’s made from sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar (ingredients you find in plenty of baked goods) to help clean and whiten your teeth, and the finest quality essential oils and fine spices to give you beautiful flavors like no other toothpaste. Then, she packaged them in recyclable boxes, and put them to the test.

What LUSH invention can’t you live without? Share them with us in the comments! We love hearing about your favorite creations.